1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensers, and more particularly, to a package and system for dispensing preformed nurser liners or sacs. The package, which is also used to transport the disposable preformed bottles, is particularly suited for dispensing stacked, nested, tapered substantially cylindrical nurser liners. It provides for the individual dispensing of liners in a sanitary fashion and without any undue pressure on the liner. Moreover, the dispenser is the package itself and interchangeably encloses the nurser liners or permits individual dispensing of same. In fact, the dispenser and means for dispensing the liners is one integral cardboard member.
The use of disposable liners or sacs in nurser bottles is primarily due to the concern over possible contamination of milk and other liquids contained in the nurser bottle. The liners are preformed, pre-sterilized and disposable and, whether collapsible or not, require holders to support them during their use within a nurser bottle or assembly. Accordingly, the nurser liners have a rather firm, but flexible, circumferential rim to support the liner in the holder.
With the advent of the expanded use of disposable liners, a need developed for a dispenser that stores, protects from contamination and transports the liners and, preferably, can also be used to dispense the liners. A common problem has been the amount of package and shelf space that can be allocated to hold a plurality of liners. To minimize the amount of space, the liners have been stacked one upon another. However, this stacking arrangement creates another problem. The frictional surface contact between adjacent liners can cause more than one liner to dispense at a time. In addition, since the liner is a one use or disposable product, it is relatively inexpensive. Thus, the packaging for this item must be cost effective.
To obtain the balance of an inexpensive dispenser that protects the liners during transportation and can hold a relatively large number of liners in a relatively small amount of space, yet provide the individual dispensing of liners without contamination, the present dispenser system, package and method of dispensing liners have been developed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nurser liners that have an upper, firm flange to facilitate the positioning and assembly of the liner with the holder are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 958,328 to Decker, which issued on Feb. 28, 1911; U.S. Pat. No. 2,110,928 to De Buys, which issued on Mar. 15, 1938; U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,481 to Allen, which issued on May 23, 1950; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,408 to Wald, which issued on Dec. 4, 1973.
Containers for dispensing generally tapered items, such as ice cream cones, cup pastry and paper cups, are also known. The tapered items are nested in a vertical stack, and retaining elements at or near the bottom aperture of the container support the lowermost tapered item so that a substantial portion of the narrow end of the lowermost tapered item is accessible from the outside of the container. The item is dispensed by gripping it with one's entire hand and pulling the tapered item down from the container. The grip must be tight enough to remove the tapered item from the container, but not so tight as to damage the tapered item.
Such containment systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,388,977, to Stephens, which issued on Aug. 30, 1921; U.S. Pat. No. 1,429,701, also to Stephens, which issued on Sep. 19, 1922; U.S. Pat. No. 1,633,983, to Dawson, et al., which issued on Jun. 28, 1927; U.S. Pat. No. 2,319,975, to Buttery, which issued on May 25, 1943; U.S. Pat. No. 2,323,841, to Pape, et al., which issued on Jul. 6, 1943; U.S. Pat. No. 2,340,090 to Vineburg, which issued on Jan. 25, 1944; U.S. Pat. No. 2,360,765 to Davidson, which issued on Oct. 17, 1944; U.S. Pat. No. 2,369,933 to Amberg, which issued on Feb. 20, 1945; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,813 to Marion, which issued on Mar. 1, 1960. See also, U.S. Design Pat. No. 225,266 to Cousins, which issued on Nov. 28, 1972; U.S. Design Pat. No. 286,109 to Cosby, et al., which issued on Oct. 14, 1986; and U.S. Design Pat. No. 298,394 to Brewer, which issued on Nov. 8, 1988.
These patents all fail to provide an easy and sanitary dispenser since such a grip can damage the tapered item and, moreover, contaminate the item.
Some patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 1,151,064 to Swift, which issued on Aug. 24, 1915, U.S. Pat. No. 1,698,239 to Morin, which issued on Jan. 8, 1929, U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,665 to Nelson, which issued on May 12, 1981, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,902 to Joslyn, et al., which issued on Apr. 26, 1988, are directed to containers that have movable components to facilitate the removal of items. These devices have complex, movable parts that are subject to breakdowns and wear and tear. Also, these containers are not economically feasible.
Other containers for dispensing stacked items are stationary units and require that the dispensed item have some means or portion to facilitate dispensing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,856 to Ballmann, et al., which issued on Nov. 5, 1985, provides a retainer for dispensing disposable face masks in which the dispensed items have a strap securely attached to facilitate dispensing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,996 to Moore, Jr., et al., which issued on Oct. 16, 1984, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,696 to Moore, Jr., et al., which issued on Apr. 8, 1986, provide a nested stack of cups positioned with respect to a dispensing person such that the back wall of each cup is directed away from the dispensing person and rests on two abutments at the bottom of the dispenser. To remove a cup from the nested stack, the extending back wall of the lowermost cup is grasped by a person's fingers and is shifted forward so that the lowermost cup is pulled downwardly from the stack of cups and from the abutments. These containers fail to dispense a flexible item that assists in the dispensing process and, therefore, they must be shifted before they can be removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,443 to Whelan, which issued on Jun. 13, 1978, is directed to cone-shaped paint filters that have extended ears to facilitate their dispensing from a container. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,460 also to Whelan, which issued on Nov. 20, 1984, also provides a device for dispensing cone-shaped paint filters having extended ears. U.S. Pat. No. 2,455,685 to Lehman, which issued on Dec. 7, 1948, provides a match box. To dispense a match from the match box, a person's finger and thumb may reach the match through the finger-receiving openings and forcibly remove the match. The match is not resilient or elastic in character, and a two-part container is necessary. These patents, as those discussed above, fail to suggest dispensing of a flexible item.
Further, not one of the above patents provide a containment unit for the storing, protecting, transporting, and dispensing of nurser liners. As also stated above, most of these containers require a person to grab the body of each tapered item which is not feasible for dispensing flexible, collapsible liners. Also, some patents disclose mechanical dispensing units that have moving parts that greatly increase the cost of the dispenser. Still further, not one of these patents takes advantage of the resiliency of the nurser liners in order to provide a simple and inexpensive container. Basically, if the mechanical dispensing units do not have moving parts, the dispensed items must be shifted-off of the additional abutments or tabs and thereafter removed from the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,112 to Mulder, et al., which issued on Oct. 17, 1989, provides a filter container having a bottom opening and side openings that are continuous with the bottom opening. The side openings are just large enough for tabs of the filter paper to extend through so that a person may access the tabs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,662 to Carrillo, which issued on Jun. 5, 1990, describes a container that employs the flexibility of paper, plastic or foam plates to dispense such items. The container holds stacked flexible plates in an upright orientation. The lowermost plate is supported in a bottom aperture by an inwardly-directed peripheral flange extending approximately 230 degrees around the circumference of the aperture. The flexible plates are also supported in this position by two inwardly-directed peripheral tabs that are situated along the circumference of the aperture away from the flange. The lowermost plate is dispensed by grasping its rim edge portion through the side aperture by a finger or thumb and pulling down past the tabs. The warping action of the dishes permits the dishes to be pulled down beyond engagement with the tabs and slide radially outward through the bottom aperture of the container.
In summary, not one of the aforementioned patents provides a dispenser for nurser liners. Moreover, these patents also do not minimize the costs of the materials and assembly by just using the structure of the dispenser body itself.